The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Oslo Disaster: Executive Summary - Efraim Karsh

by Efraim Karsh

Just as the creation of free and democratic societies in Germany and
Japan after World War II necessitated a comprehensive sociopolitical and
educational transformation, so it will only be when Palestinian society
undergoes a real "spring" that the century-long conflict between Arabs
and Jews can at long last be resolved

Viewed from a 23-year vantage point, the Oslo "peace process" between
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) stands as one of
the worst-ever calamities to have hit Israelis and Palestinians.

For Israel, it has been the starkest strategic blunder in the
country's history – establishing an ineradicable terror entity on
Israel's doorstep, deepening its internal cleavages, destabilizing its
political system, and weakening its international standing.For West Bank and Gaza Palestinians, it has brought about subjugation
to corrupt and repressive PLO and Hamas regimes – regimes that have
reversed the hesitant advent of civil society in these territories,
shattered their socioeconomic wellbeing, and made the prospects for
peace and reconciliation with Israel ever more remote.

This abject failure is a direct result of the Palestinian
leadership's perception of the process as a pathway not to a two-state
solution — meaning Israel alongside a Palestinian state in the West Bank
and Gaza — but to the subversion of the State of Israel; not to
nation-building and state creation, but to the formation of a repressive
terror entity that would perpetuate conflict with Israel while keeping
its hapless constituents in constant and bewildered awe as its leaders
line their pockets from the proceeds of this misery.

Palestinian leaders see the peace process as a pathway not to a two-state solution, but to the subversion of Israel.

So long as things on the Palestinian side are permitted, or even
encouraged, to remain as they are, there will be no progress whatsoever
toward peace. There will be no advancement towards peace in the
framework of a French-initiated international conference, nor even in
bilateral talks (were the Palestinians to be somehow coerced to return
to the negotiating table).

Just as the creation of free and democratic societies in Germany and
Japan after World War II necessitated a comprehensive sociopolitical and
educational transformation, so it will only be when Palestinian society
undergoes a real "spring" that the century-long conflict between Arabs
and Jews can at long last be resolved and a semi-functioning Palestinian
state come into being. This requires sweeping the corrupt and
oppressive PLO and Hamas rulers from power, eliminating endemic violence
from political and social life, and teaching the virtues of coexistence
with Israeli neighbors.

Sadly, the possibility of a Palestinian spring, which seemed to be in
the offing in 1993 when the PLO hovered on the verge of extinction and
West Bank and Gaza leadership appeared eager to strike a historic deal
within the framework of the Washington peace negotiations, has been
destroyed for the foreseeable future by the Oslo "peace process."

Efraim Karsh is emeritus professor
of Middle East and Mediterranean studies at Kings College London, a
senior research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic
Studies, and principal research fellow at the Middle East Forum.Source: http://www.meforum.org/blog/2016/09/karsh-oslo-disaster Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.